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…what does water mean to you?

Water is emerging as one of the single most important resources of Planet Earth. Already scarce in some areas, it has become the new “gold” to be bought, traded, coveted, cherished, hoarded, and abused worldwide. It is currently traded on the Stock Exchange…

Some see water as a commodity like everything else that can make them rich; they will claim it as their own to sell. Yet it cannot be “owned” or kept. Ultimately, water will do its job to energize you and give you life then quietly take its leave; it will move mountains particle by particle with a subtle hand; it will paint the world with beauty then return to its fold and rejoice; it will travel through the universe and transform worlds; it will transcend time and space to share and teach.

Actually, chemically speaking, water is not an element–it is a compound molecule made of elements (such as hydrogen and oxygen) in a particular proportion (as D.H. Lawrence said: two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen). You can call water a compound or substance. An element cannot be chemically interconverted or broken down into simpler substances, which water can be. However, many people do call it an element, using that term in a general unscientific way: as an essential part of something.